That is My Center What is Yours?: Memories
by les7091
Summary: Memories. A very important center. But why is it so important to the Tooth Fairy? What happened before she became a guardian that made this so important to her?


_**I was watching Rise of the Guardians and Jack's memories got me thinking about the guardians. The way I see it, Jack was made into a guardian because he died and the Man in the Moon saw something in him the world needed more of(his center). So He made him into a guardian (/magical being) so Jack could continue to spread his center(fun) to the children of the world. Jack was fun by nature, which is why it was his center. That got me thinking; how did the other guardian's centers develop before they were made into guardians(/magical beings)? So I decided to explore reasons that things such as hope, wonder, dreams, and memories would be so important that the guardians would want to so strongly share them with the world.**_

 _ **I first got to thinking about the Easter Bunny. His back story is included in my other story To be Believed in, which is about Jack Frost, so check that out. Please review and let me know what you think, reviews make me VERY happy. Thank you for reading**_

Where am I? It's cold... I force my eyes open and wince at the pain in my head. I'm laying in the middle of a long road. How did I get here and why does my head hurt so bad? I put my hand up to feel my head as I struggle to sit up. My hand comes away bloody. I stare at it for a moment before I have to look away. I look down one side of the road; it seems never ending and I don't see anything. It's the same on the other side. Which way was I coming from?

I slowly manage to stand up and fall back down. I close my eyes until the dizzy feeling goes away before I try again. I manage to stand without falling over, but I don't move for several minutes just to be sure. Again I look down both directions of the road. I really don't know where I was going or where I was coming from. So I simply pick a direction and start walking. Surely I'll come across a town soon

I end up walking for much longer than I had hoped and fear I will fall over any second now. But at least I'm now in a town and maybe somebody can help me. Thank goodness I see somebody walking in my direction

"Oh my god, are you alright? What happened?" a woman asks me

"I don't... I don't know" I slur at her

"Goodness, let me help you" she says. I accept her help and she guides me into a building. She sits me in a chair and then rushes away. I'm not sure how long she is gone because I black out for a while and when I come to, she is back and cleaning the blood from my hair

"Thank you" I say as loudly as I can muster, which is no more than a whisper. I feel better than I did before, but not much

"My dear, it's absolutely no problem. Can you tell me what happened?" she asks

"No... I can't- I can't remember" I tell her honestly

"Who are you? Where did you come from?" The question is like a slap across the face. Of course I wondered where I had come from to end up in the middle of the road, but I hadn't realized until know that I didn't even remember who I was. What even was my name?

Before I realize it, I am having a sobbing fit in the arms of a woman I didn't even know. I didn't even know anybody any more, which made me sob harder. The woman doesn't say anything, she just comforts me while I cry. When I manage to stop, the woman grabs my shoulders and looks me in the eye

"I want you to stay here in my home until you remember or are ready to leave. I will not take no for an answer" she says. I don't want to impose, but I can tell by the look on her face that arguing would not be a good idea; so I smile at her and nod.

She takes me to a room and shows me around

"Thank you" I tell her again. She shoots me a look that lets me know that I don't need to keep thanking her; but that doesn't mean I will stop

"If you need anything, let me know" she says with another kind smile

"Just one thing... What's your name?" I ask. Her smile grows

"Salvadora"

I've been here for a month, and I still can't remember anything. It's frustrating, saddening, and angering. So I spend most of my days lying in bed. I know I should get up and do something, like help Salvadora to thank her for all she's done, but getting out of bed just to eat is hard enough.

My first week here, I went to everybody in town and asked them if they knew who I was. Nobody had ever seen me before. I wanted to go the next closest town, but Salvadora told me it would take me days and she didn't have a wagon I could use. When she showed me on a map just how far away the other village was, I was heartbroken. It's the only place I could have come from; where people may know who I am. But I have no way to get there. I wish I could grow wings and fly there... But I can't.

Salvadora gets me to join her on the porch to just watch the town children. They're playing some kind of game, but I'm not paying attention. My attention gets sparked, however, when I hear the sound of a young girl

"I don't know, you should ask her yourself" Salvadora tells the younger girl. With a shy smile, the girl turns to me

"Do you like to play games?" she asks, hesitantly. I'm about to tell her no, but... I don't know. What do I like? What did I like before when I was younger, like her? Did I have friends I played with? What about my parents... did they play with me? Did I have parents?

"Maybe just run along now" I hear Salvadora tell the little girl. I don't know how long I have been sitting here, drowning in the never ending questions developing in my head.

"It'll be okay, I know it's hard" Salvadora tells me, handing me a handkerchief. I try to stop the tears I hadn't noticed were falling in a steady stream until now.

"I have to get to the other town. I have to" I tell her

"You cannot... You have no way to get there" she says with concern in her voice

"I'll walk" I tell her; standing. I'll leave right now

"It is almost winter, the nights are far too cold and it will take you at least a week to get there" She says, but her words fall on deaf ears; I'm already in the house. I grab a bag and head to my room to get my few clothes.

"Please! It is too far and will be too cold" she exclaims, following behind me

"I'll be fine. I will make fires" I tell her, continuing through the house, gathering things I may need. I stop when I notice Salvadora crying. I go to her and give her a hug

"I appreciate your concern and I thank you for all the help you have provided me, but... I cannot stay here. I must find out who I am, where I came from, and what happened to me. I am very sorry" I tell her

"I understand. But I don't want anything to happen to you. And I'll miss you" She says

"I'll miss you too"

I go to the edge of the woods; to the beginning of the road. It is a very long road. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I take the first step. Now I can't stop. I resist the urge to look back. But if I look back, I may see Salvadora and I won't be able to do this. I have to do this, so I wait at least an hour before I look back. I can see nothing but the long empty road and trees. I blink away the tears and keep moving.

For three days I manage well; but then I run out of food. The nights have been very cold, and they will seem even colder now without food. I still have a very long way to go. I haven't seen anybody since I left, so it's pleasant to see a hummingbird as stumble down the road. It follows me for a while.

"What are you doing here? It's much too cold at night for you to still be here" I tell the small bird. It continues to buzz quickly beside me as I walk. I'm concerned for it; if I doesn't leave this area soon, it may die from the cold. But I do with I could be like my new feathered friend. If I were like him, I bet I could get to my destination in half the time. Before much longer, the bird leaves me and I feel lonely.

Nothing to do but keep walking.

I stand leaning against the tree before I start to slide and then I sit against the tree. I had to stop an take a break, but not I'm not sure if I can keep going. I don't know how long I sit here before I hear a noise. I look down the road and see a wagon coming, pulled by two horses. I keep sitting and wait for the wagon to get closer before I try to stand. I manage the feat just as the wagon gets to me. It stops and the man sitting in the wagon slightly looks at me. He looks startled for a moment before the look goes away

"Hello" he says hesitantly

"Hello. Could I possibly get a ride?" I ask. He looks at me confused before he agrees. I climb onto the wagon and sit next to him. It starts moving again

"So... Where are you headed?" he asks, giving me a long look out of the corner of his eye

"The town at the end of this road" I tell him

"Hmm... What's your name?" the question still hurts

"I... I don't know" I say, looking down

"Interesting" is his response; but I ignore it. We ride in silence for a long while until I feel something next to my seat. I find a necklace; a thin braided rope with a small pouch attached

"What's this; If I may ask?" I say, holding it up. The man glances at me

"Oh... I don't know" he replied, barely glancing at it

"Do you mind?" I ask, gesturing to the pouch

"Not at all" he says, not even looking. I carefully open the pouch and inside find... teeth. Baby teeth.

Before I know it, I am being thrown back in time; into a memory

"Mother, why do I need to take these with me? And why do you have them anyway?" I asked her, holding up the necklace she just gave me that contains my baby teeth

"Don't you remember what I used to tell you about baby teeth?" she asked me, looking sad. She sighed loudly at me "My how you've grown... You used to ask me when you were younger why your baby teeth fell out. You used to be so scared of loosing teeth" she chuckled lightly and I smiled at her "And I told you that your baby teeth used to connect all the way to your brain and gather information and memories about your childhood. Eventually your teeth got so full of memories that you needed new ones and the old ones fell out. You had to keep your baby teeth so all those memories and information would never be lost... I want you to take them with you so you don't forget me" she said, with tears in her eyes. I gathered her in my arms and hugged her tight

"I'll never forget you" I whispered in her ear

I gasp and fist the necklace tightly in my hand. Where did this man get my necklace? This is the same one my mother gave me! I look at the man out of the corner of my eye

"Where... where did you get this?" I ask him, trying to hide the shaking in my voice. He glances at me, and I notice him look at my head

"That's quite the scar you've got there" He says; ignoring my question. I look at him, my angry eyes demanding an answer. Before I can say anything, he speaks again "You know... It's not often you find a young woman alone on the road in a big forest" he says. My heart starts pounding. This man now seems familiar. He stops the wagon and looks at me. For the first time I truly see his face "And now it's happened to me twice" he says. And that's when I remember. I remember it all; and he knows it. I don't get out of the wagon in time.

I am lying in the middle of the road again. But this time I know I won't be getting back up. As I struggle to breath, I look at the bright, beautiful moon. The necklace with my baby teeth is still in my hand and it reminds me of something else my mom used to tell me. If you looked at the moon closely enough, you could see a face in it. A man in the moon who watched over everybody. As I stare at the moon, for the first time, I see the Man in the Moon.

I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know what you think. Again, if you want to know Bunny's backstory, it is included in my other story To be Believed In :)


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